On the Translation of The Sino Time Charter from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

Abstract：Shipping documents，like charter party are playing an important role in foreign trade.However，different versions are of various qualities，the related charter party translation should be enhanced further.This paper takes the Sino Time Charter as an example and makes a deep exploration on characteristics of vocabularies and sentences，analyzing translating strategies of them under the guidance of Skopos Theory.

Key words：the Sino Time Charter；Skopos Theory；translation strategies

1 Introduction of Skopos Theory

Skopos Theory provides an insight into the nature of translation as a purposeful activity.Therefore，from the perspective of Skopos Theory，translation is the conscious activity with purposes of translators.Skopos Theory includes three principles，namely，coherence rule，and fidelity rule and skopos rule as its core.

2 Features of the Sino Time Charter

The Sino Time Charter involves a number of terminologies in fields of insurance，maritime convention，shipbuilding and so on.There are many formal words rather than rhetorics such as metaphor and personification in the Sino Time Charter.The formal and standardized language of the Sino Time Charter is featured with strong logic and accurate concept.

3 Analysis of the translation of the Sino Time Charter

Example 1：

ST：The Vessel has liberty to call at any port or ports in any order，for any purpose，to sail withoutpilots，to tow and/or assist Vessels in all situations，and also to deviate for the purpose of saving life and/or property.（The Sino Time Charter）

TT：船舶有權为任何目的以任何顺序挂靠任何港口，有无引航员在船均可航行，在任何情况下拖带和/或救助他船，亦可为拯救人命和/或财产而绕航。（The Sino Time Charter）

Besides，the translation of polysemy in the Sino Time Charter varies greatly from that in other disciplines.The word “pilot” is generally translated into “飞行员”，but in the charter party it must be translated as “引航员”； and the word “call” need to be translated into “挂靠” in the charter party.

Example 2：

ST：The vessel not be ordered to nor bound to enter any icebound place.（The Sino Time Charter）

TT：不得命令船舶驶往或驶入冰封地点。（The Sino Time Charter）

This sentence does not emphasize the passive relationship between the vessel and the order.The recognized translation is to convey the meaning and to play a role in intercultural activities.The literal translation which ignores the form while puts an emphasis on the meaning is adopted here.

Example 3：

ST：The owners to have a lien upon all cargos and sub freights belonging to the Time-Charterers and any Bill of Lading freight for all claims under this Charter，and the charterers to have a lien on the Vessel for all moneys paid in advance and not earned and for all claims for damages arising from any breach of this Charter by Owners.（The Sino Time Charter）

TT：出租人为了得到根据本合同的所有索赔，对所有货物和属于定期租船人的转租运费和提单运费有留置权，承租人为了收回预付款和不应付的款和得到由于出租人违背本合同引起损坏索赔对船舶有留置权。（The Sino Time Charter）

In a word，it is necessary to translate passive sentences in flexible ways so that the translated text can be faithful to the source text.And they are generally translated into active sentences in Chinese.When translating long sentences，it is essential to analyze the structure and composition of those sentences，and divide them into short sentences.

4 Conclusion

Under the guidance of Skopos Theory，this article has carefully researched the charter party.Terminologies in the charter party are translated mainly by means of literal translation or domestication.As for passive sentences，translators need to ignore the passive relationship in the source text and further describe facts by properly adopting the strategy of omission and free translation.When dealing with long sentences，translators should regard Skopos Theory as their guidance to clearly analyze and clarify the relationship between the sentence components，and to create translation that are acceptable to readers by strategies of free translation and domestication.

References

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作者简介

祁苏婷（1995—），女，硕士，上海海事大学，英语笔译理论与实践。